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We sat down with League of Our Own Coach, Edith Jorge recently to catch up with her team and learn more about her background.

Check it out below!

LOOO: What is your background and what do you do for the League?

EJ: I’ve been a political operative for over 10 years, specializing in national strategy, managing campaigns and strategic mobilization. Because of my personal background, I’ve had the privilege to learn different forms of engagement specific to targeted coalition groups, and in doing so, have worked on campaigns that have set record breaking elections.

I coach coalition building for the League.

LOOO: What do you think is the biggest issue facing women interested in politics?

EJ: Confidence. I think that women need to be more confident that they can get the job done, even if they have no idea what it may entail. One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was from a mentor who told me, “you gotta fake it till you make it” – referring to me walking into a room and commanding it, regardless of whether or not I felt qualified to be there. Whenever I catch myself second guessing whether or not I am qualified or ready for a new project, I remind myself – I won’t know the answer unless I put myself out there first and at least try.

LOOO: What is your favorite campaign memory?

EJ: One of my favorite campaign memories is sitting in the war room on election night in 2014, waiting for the results of the NM Governor’s re-election race, seeing the numbers trail and realizing we had just make history. Not only did we win by an overwhelming majority, but we won back the state house for the first time since 1952. It was one of the best feelings in the world! As you can imagine, there was quite a bit of celebrating that happened that night.

LOOO: What are you reading or listening to via podcast?

EJ: Not specific to women in politics, but an interesting history lesson on the influence of the Bacardi family and business on the search for democracy and capitalism in Cuba, I’m currently ready ‘Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba: The Biography of a Cause.’

LOOO: Who is your favorite baseball team?

EJ: I’m not a huge baseball fan (I promise, I still love America!), but being from North NJ, I have to go with either the Yankees or the Mets. If they are playing each other, then Mets, since I’m a fan of an underdog story.

LOOO: What do you do for fun?

EJ: I love the outdoors, so for fun I tend to hike, fish and find any reason to be outside.

Thanks for chatting with us, Edith!

Learn more from Edith by signing up for Home Base!

LANSING, MI, September 28, 2017 – League of Our Own is celebrating a successful launch this past weekend on Mackinac Island.

The League hosted an event at the Pink Pony on Mackinac Island to introduce the League of Our Own to those attending the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference on Saturday, September 23, 2017. The event was hosted in partnership with Michigan Excellence in Public Service (MEPSS).

“There are many organizations that recruit women to run for office. Where there seems to be a gap, are organizations that provide training to women who want to run for office. League of Our Own is here to fill that gap by calling on a statewide network of talent to mentor and develop women who have an interest in being leaders in their community,” said Kristin Fair, the League’s Training and Mentoring Manager. “There are women leaders in every community across the state and the nation, yet women continue to be under-represented at every level of government. League of Our Own wants to challenge them to get involved, and empower them to be leaders on local school boards and city councils, in the state house and senate, in Congress and beyond.”

Fed up with the government shutdown in 2013, Senator Susan Collins took the floor, presented a three-point plan and implored colleagues on both sides of the aisle to work with her.

As soon as she walked off, her phone rang. The first senators to call her, she said, were women: Kelly Ayotte and Lisa Murkowski, fellow Republicans, and Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat.

“I’ve always thought that was significant,” said Ms. Collins, a Republican from Maine. “And indeed, we put together a plan for the reopening of government, and women led the way.”

Tuesday failed to be a ceiling-shattering day for women in government. In addition to Hillary Clinton’s loss, the number of female governors dropped to five from six, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers. Kate Brown of Oregon was the only woman to win a governor’s race. The number of women in Congress stayed flat at 104, or 19 percent of seats. (The Senate had a net gain of one woman and the House a net loss of one.) Thirteen states will send no women to the 115th Congress, including Mississippi and Vermont, which have never had a woman in Congress.